79 field-tested guides
Feed economics, breed math, ASF-era biosecurity, and the cost lines that quietly decide whether a backyard piggery pays for itself or eats your savings.
Most backyard pigs do well on 2 feeds per day, morning and late afternoon. But weaners need 3-4, and lactating sows should eat as much as they want.
The last 30 days before selling is when you maximize weight gain. Add coconut oil, increase energy feeds, and time your sale for peak market demand.
"Is a piggery a good investment" gets a yes from everyone selling you one. Here is the honest answer with 2026 numbers, compared head-to-head against the four things OFW money usually goes into instead.
Not every farmer should scale up. Here is an honest breakdown of what it costs, what you earn, and what breaks even at 5, 20, and 50 heads in Philippine pig farming.
At minimum, every pig needs hog cholera vaccination at 6-8 weeks with a booster at 10-12 weeks. Many municipalities provide this free. Here is the complete schedule.
A pig dresses out at about 72–78% of liveweight. A 100 kg pig yields roughly 72–78 kg carcass, so a ₱210/kg liveweight price is not a ₱210/kg dressed price. Here is the math and how to protect yourself at the sale.
As of May 2026, liveweight pig prices run roughly ₱200–₱230/kg nationally, above the ₱210/kg DA floor in most areas after the late-2025 crash. Here is the current picture and how to confirm the exact price near you.
Glove up, isolate the sow, and figure out if it is just one or the whole herd. The cause changes everything; in PH, leptospirosis tops the list.
Fever above 39.5°C plus piglets crying nonstop after a fresh farrow is MMA until proven otherwise. You have 48 hours before the litter starts to die.
Larvae double overnight. Pull them out, dust with Negasunt, inject ivermectin, and stop the next batch of flies. Most adult-pig wounds clear in a week.
Backyard 10-pig operators look at semi-commercial 80-pig farms and think scale equals more money. The math is harder than that. At some scales, adding pigs makes your per-pig margin worse, not better.
Berkshire pork sells for 2-3x the price of Duroc in Manila restaurants. But Berkshire takes 30% longer to grow, costs more to source, and only pays back if you have premium buyers. Here is the honest math.
Most backyard farmers sell when their pigs hit market weight, not when prices are best. In a normal year that timing gap is ₱1,500-₱2,500 per pig. But 2025 broke the pattern for the first time in decades. Here is how to read the calendar and the import risk.
An 8m³ biogas digester on a 10-pig backyard piggery pays back in 10-20 months at 2026 LPG prices. The math works for most farms above 5 pigs. Cheap plastic units degrade fast and concrete units cost 3x more upfront. Here is which one fits your scale.
The all-in cash cost runs ₱11,900-₱16,100 for backyard and ₱14,300-₱19,400 for commercial setups in 2026. Full itemized breakdown with current prices.